Cause of fatal helicopter crash in North Yorkshire unknown, inquest hears

An inquest has heard that it remains impossible to determine the cause of a helicopter crash which left two people dead.

Ian Macdonald, 66, and Admasu Tefera, 16, died after their aircraft plummeted vertically into a tree near Burton in Lonsdale, in North Yorkshire, and caught fire.

A jury heard the extensive damage caused by the fire meant it was not possible to conclude what led to the crash on 20 June, 2022.

A report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch said it considered whether a mechanical failure, an “incorrect pilot response to unexpected environmental conditions”, an inadvertent intervention on the controls by the passenger or a medical episode had caused the incident.

But the court heard the report’s conclusion that “the evidence recovered in this investigation was not sufficient to determine the cause of the accident”.

Mr Macdonald was about to land his Guimbal Cabri G2 helicopter after an 80-minute-long flight with German exchange student Admasu around the Lake District when the crash happened. The journey was Admasu's first helicopter ride.

Home Office pathologist Sam Hoggard said the teenager died from a blunt head injury before the fire consumed the aircraft.

Mr Macdonald's likely cause of death was a combination of injuries sustained in the crash and from the effects of the fire.

Investigators found there was evidence from the crash site and from witnesses that the engine was running and the rotor blades were turning when the aircraft hit the tree. However, other mechanical failures could not be ruled out.

The inquest heard Mr Macdonald had over 500 hours of flying experience, half of which was spent on the type of aircraft involved in the incident.

Investigators said they could not rule out "pilot handling or undesirable environmental conditions leading to a loss of control" as a cause but stressed Mr Macdonald's experience.

A report read to court said: "He was not a student or low hours helicopter pilots, he had 20 years of experience and he did not routinely fly another helicopter type with an anticlockwise rotating main rotor.

"As a consequence, his instinctive pedal input would likely have been the correct one."

Mr Hoggard added that the pilot had coronary heart disease and he could not rule out the possibility of a fatal medical event causing the crash.

"It's possible. There was nothing to support that being the case. But I can't exclude that either," he said.

The jury returned a narrative conclusion that both Mr Macdonald and Admasu died as a result of a helicopter crash.

Admasu is believed to have been living with a nearby family for three months before the crash.

Mr Macdonald was said to be a well-liked member of the community of nearby Burton in Lonsdale.

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